Methods, systems, and products for evaluating performance of viewers

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and products evaluate performance of a viewer watching programming. A prompt is displayed, and the viewer enters a response to the prompt. The performance of the viewer is based at least partly on a time of the response.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/820,688 filed Jun. 20, 2007 and now issued as U.S. Pat. No.8,468,556, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/183,450 filed Jul. 18, 2005 and now issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,269,835, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/036,677 filed Dec. 21, 2001 and now issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,086,075, with all applications incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document and its figurescontain material subject to copyright protection. The copyright ownerhas no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdocument or the patent disclosure, but otherwise reserves all copyrightswhatsoever.

BACKGROUND

The exemplary embodiments generally relate to the field of managingtelevision viewing activities. More specifically, the exemplaryembodiments relate to advertising management systems and methods inwhich timed responses to audio/video (A/V) events in televisionprogramming are presented, responded to, and/or tracked.

Advertisements and content may be displayed in between and during thesubject portions of television programming. Advertisements are theprimary source of revenue for television networks and a major componentin the generation of revenue for advertisers. In one example,advertisements are typically ten to ninety seconds in length, and aregrouped together as pre-selected breaks in the broadcast of a program,typically occurring from every few to every fifteen minutes ofprogramming. In another example, advertising may be accomplished bysubtly placing products within the subject portion of a broadcast, suchas during movies, sitcoms, sporting events, etc. The number ofadvertisements and the timing between the placement of theadvertisements is dependent on the type of program and the format of theprogram (e.g., live or pre-recorded). Television programming typicallyincludes approximately sixteen minutes of advertisements during everyhour of programming, providing a large amount of time to presentinformation to consumers. Many advertisers use this time as theirprimary avenue for promoting products, content, services, and events toconsumers.

Television advertising and content is generally more effective whenaired during popular television programs that are watched by manyviewers who are interested in the types of products or services beingadvertised. “Targeted advertising” refers to identifying a group ofpeople as being those that have the greatest interest in what is beingadvertised, and providing the most favorable situation in which theadvertisement will reach that pre-determined group of consumers.Advertisers reach these pre-determined groups by strategically placingadvertisements and content based on the time of the day, the popularityof a subject program, and the type of advertisement or content shown.Displaying an advertisement to a large audience results in morepotential consumers receiving the advertisement, which is likely toresult in more revenue being generated. In determining whether atelevision program may be appropriate for a particular advertisement,advertisers consider viewer categories such as age, gender, incomelevel, and viewer interests.

Broadcasting networks and advertisers are able to gauge whichdemographic groups are watching which programs using conventional marketresearch tools. For example, the AC Nielsen™ ratings system trackstelevision viewing activities by sampling a plurality of households, andestimating the number of viewers of particular programs using theviewing activity data.

In order to gauge the effectiveness of their spending, advertisers havelong sought information related to potential consumer viewing patterns.There are several conventional devices and techniques that exist forgathering such information. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,386 issuedto Cheung discloses “an apparatus for television audience analysiscomprising means for monitoring a television receiver, means responsiveto a monitored signal for storing information representative of channelidentification and of the time at which a channel is selected and atwhich the selection of a channel is terminated, and means for readingthe stored information periodically.”

As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,030 issued to Nickerson, et al.,discloses “a data storage and transmission system for accumulating andtransmitting data from a plurality of remote T.V. panelist locations toa central location. Each remote unit includes a microprocessor, acontrol memory, and a data store memory. The control memory storescontrol information for the remote unit, which may include dynamicallocation information. The data store memory is event driven and storesdata as to television channel selection and times thereof, and can storeviewer reaction data and the like. At a pre-selected time, each remoteunit initiates a telephone call to a central location and identifiesitself. Upon successful telephone connection between a remote unit andthe central location, any data such as viewer habit and/or reaction dataand the like contained in the data store memory is transmitted over thetelephone line to the central location.”

Other conventional systems and methods provide somewhat more use datathan only channel numbers viewed and the time of viewing, such as whichproducts panelists purchase. U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,904 issued to McKenna,et al., discloses “a data gathering system including a plurality ofremote units which are controlled from a central location. Each of theremote units are attached to a television receiver which is generally,but not necessarily, attached to a cable system. Each of the remoteunits may function to determine which of several TV modes is in use aswell as to store TV channel selector data, data from an optical inputdevice, and/or data input by viewers representative of the compositionof the viewing audience. The data is stored for either later collectionby a portable data collector, or for direct transmission via telephoneto the central location. A video message for a TV viewer, such as asurvey, may be transmitted from the central location and stored at theremote units, for later display on the TV receiver associated with theremote units. The substitution of alternate programming information mayalso be achieved by the central control point on selected of the remoteunits.”

Conventionally, panelist monitoring may be used to gauge theeffectiveness of advertising and content on a selected group ofpanelists. Nevertheless, while panelist monitoring systems like thosedescribed above provide somewhat more monitoring data than just TVtuning data, they do so only for limited groups. For example, when moredata is gathered (like purchase information), it is done only for thepanelist groups, rather than for subscribers of the entire system.

Conventional systems typically capture ratings information thatidentifies which television shows are viewed, rather than whether thesubscriber also viewed the commercials displayed during those shows.What is important to an advertiser is that potential consumers areinterested in an advertisement enough to sit through its duration. Thereis a great deal of money invested in advertising, with the hopes that itwill return even greater profits. Conventional systems do not result inadequate amounts of viewing information and feedback being generated,and are not efficient in presenting the information to and rewardingviewers for participating in television programming.

Accordingly, there are needs for gathering more detailed viewerinformation, establishing two-way communication with a viewer in orderto collect the detailed information, and systems and methods forprocessing the detailed information in order to accomplish the goals ofboth a viewer and a provider, such as, for example, requesting certaintypes of information and receiving information and incentives based uponviewer participation.

SUMMARY

According to exemplary embodiments, the needs described above and otherneeds are met by providing highly efficient systems and methods wherebyaudio/visual cues and/or events are presented to viewers of a televisionprogram, advertisement, and/or other content. Some of the systems andmethods include recording response times to the audio/visual cues orevents provided by the viewer by actuating a key on a user input device,such as a remote control unit. Viewer response times are then processedand evaluated for the purposes of competition, discounts, incentives,awards, polling, surveying, and/or other purposes.

Some of the embodiments of this invention present a cue and/or event toa viewer to using standard or time-tag enhanced television programming(or other media programming) and any conventional set top box (oralternate media delivery device) equipped with demographics andprogramming collection and analysis systems that may be deployed for useon an interactive media delivery system.

Some of the embodiments of this invention builds upon the ability of aset top box processor to record the actions of a viewer while watchingtelevision. By actuating a key on a remote control unit based uponaudio/visual cues, viewer behavior may be recorded, transmitted ifnecessary, and then processed in order to evaluate the viewer behavior.Since each viewer action is time-stamped, a recreation of the vieweraction sequence in time may be generated, which may be compared againstany known sequence of events.

In the exemplary embodiments, a television programming stream (networkshow, advertisement, gaming program, polling program, survey program,etc.) is presented over a particular period of time may include one ormore intentional or incidental occurrences of audio/video content orevents, such as the display of products, a word, a sound, an action byan actor, an effect, or any other recognizable event. Responses to thesecues may be used as part of an award, incentive, measurement, markettest, individual skill (including visual) measurement, marketing,customer sensitivity to product measurement program, andgame/contest/entertainment device.

According to an exemplary method for providing an incentive for a viewerto watch network programming, a prompt (also referred to herein as a“cue”) is presented with the television programming stream (or alternatemedia stream) to provide an indicated response to an event within anindicated time period. The viewer may react and respond to the prompt byactuating a pushbutton of a remote control device (or other means forcommunicating a response to the prompt to the set-top box). Thereafter,the response to the event is detected, a response time of the indicatedresponse to the event is measured, viewer performance is evaluated basedupon the response time, and the incentive may be presented to the viewerbased upon the response time. The incentive may be presented with thetelevision programming stream or with an alternate media stream to theset-top box.

The event may comprise one or more intentional or incidental occurrencesof audio/visual content broadcast to the viewer during the televisionprogramming stream. The indicated response to the event may betime-stamped and used to create a viewer's action log from the indicatedresponse and the response time, which may be compared against any knownsequence of events.

In one of the exemplary embodiments, the indicated response to the eventis provided by the viewer actuating a pushbutton key on a set-top boxremote control unit which transmits an encoded signal when the vieweridentifies the one or more intentional or incidental occurrences ofaudio/visual content.

In another exemplary embodiment, a display device of a media deliverydevice presents an incentive to a viewer to watch network programming.The media delivery device includes a decoder operable for decodingbroadcast media programming into the media delivery device, a processoroperable for generating incidental or intentional occurrences ofaudio/visual cues to be inserted into the media delivery device, asensor operable for detecting viewer responses to the incidental orintentional occurrences of audio/visual cues, a processor operable formeasuring the response time of the viewer's response, and a processoroperable for evaluating the viewer's response by comparing the responsetime against any known sequence of events, the results of which are usedto provide an incentive to the viewer based upon the evaluation.

In a further exemplary embodiment, the media delivery device includes anetwork connection operable for transmitting encoded signals between themedia delivery device and an external network, and wherein the mediadelivery device receives prompts from the external network and theexternal network receives notification for the viewer's response and theresponse time.

Other systems, methods, and/or computer program products according tosome of the embodiments will be or become apparent to one with skill inthe art upon review of the following drawings and detailed description.It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, and/orcomputer program products be included within and protected by thisdescription and be within the scope of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other embodiments, objects, uses, advantages, and novelfeatures are more clearly understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary schematic diagram of a set top box according toan exemplary embodiment of some of the embodiments of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram for prompting a viewer during a televisionbroadcast and recording viewer response times using the set top box ofFIG. 1 according to another exemplary embodiment of some of theembodiments of this invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram for providing rewards and incentives to aviewer who responds in an appropriate manner to one or more audio/visualcues using the set top box of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The exemplary embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings. The exemplary embodimentsmay, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those ofordinary skill in the art. Moreover, all statements herein recitingembodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, areintended to encompass both structural and functional equivalentsthereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include bothcurrently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in thefuture (i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function,regardless of structure).

Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill inthe art that the diagrams, flowcharts, illustrations, and the likerepresent conceptual views or processes illustrating systems, methodsand computer program products embodying some of the embodiments of thisinvention. The functions of the various elements shown in the figuresmay be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well ashardware capable of executing associated software. Similarly, anyswitches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Their function may becarried out through the operation of program logic, through dedicatedlogic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic,or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by theentity implementing some of the embodiments of this invention. Those ofordinary skill in the art further understand that the exemplaryhardware, software, processes, methods, and/or operating systemsdescribed herein are for illustrative purposes and, thus, are notintended to be limited to any particular named manufacturer.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals indicate likeelements throughout the several figures, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplaryhardware environment in which a conventional set top box (STB) 10, suchas a set top box operable for monitoring viewing habits and collectinginformation, receives encoded television signals either from a satellitereceiver 12 or a cable feed line 14, which is fed to a tuner/demodulator16 for receiving digital signals. The STB 10 may be similar to the STBdescribed in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/496,825, filed Feb. 1, 2000,which is incorporated herein by reference. The digital signals aredivided into audio and video (A/V) signals. The tuner/demodulator 16tunes to the frequency of a broadcast stream that is selected by aviewer. The tuner/demodulator 16 feeds into a decoder 18 in a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 20 in the set top box 10. The tuner 16 tunes tothe frequency of a selected decoder 18 transport stream which is thendecoded and fed to the television 22 via A/V out jacks 23.

Programming subscription memory 24 in the CPU 20 maintains a list oftelevision stations that are available to the viewer in accordance withthe subscription plan arranged by the user of the STB 10. In order toselect a channel, the CPU 20 either receives signals from a user inputdevice, such as a remote control unit 26 via a remote control sensor 28,or receives signals from the television unit 22. The STB 10 includes acontrol interface for accepting viewer commands from the remote controlunit 22.

The STB 10 includes a network connection/modem 30 by which the set topbox 10 may transmit and receive data from the cable or satellitetelevision system provider. The network connection modem 30 may includean asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) 31 modem or a cable modem.In conventional satellite television systems, the STB 10 initiates acall to the satellite system service provider in order to providebilling information, such as movie purchases.

The STB 10 additionally includes a television review detector 32. Thedetector 32 receives responses from a television viewer that is usingthe interactive two-way communication method of some of the embodimentsof this invention, as will be described below, via the remote controlunit 26 and the remote control sensor 28. A random access memory module(RAM) 34 is operable for storing files and includes a timed responsemonitoring module 36, which time stamps a viewer's indicated response,and a viewer action's monitoring module 38, which monitors the viewer'sindicated responses. The RAM module 34, timed-response monitoring module36, and viewer action's monitoring module 38 are accessed by the CPU 20during the operation of the two-way communication method of some of theembodiments of this invention. Memory intensive files may be stored in ahard disk 40.

Persons skilled in the art will recognize that some of the embodimentsof this invention may be used with any of a variety of interactive mediadelivery systems, standard or wireless cable television systems,satellite television systems, internet protocol television (IPTV),and/or other media delivery systems that allow duplex communication(perhaps with the return path via a separate (e.g. telephone, cable,data, satellite, etc.) network) to the STB 10 coupled to the viewer'stelevision set 22 or alternate display device or the like. Some of theembodiments of this invention may be used in conjunction with additionaldemographics and programming ratings collection systems that may bedeployed for use on an interactive media delivery system.

The CPU 20 in the STB 10 collects information to create a log relatingto all or selected events of interest. An event is defined as an actionor a change in the state of the STB 10 that is deemed important tobuilding a knowledge base on particular viewers, their viewing patterns,and viewer response behavior. The CPU 20 records response times toaudio/visual cues or events provided by the viewer through the actuationof a key on a user input device, such as a remote control unit 26.Viewer response times are then processed and evaluated for the purposesof competition, discounts, incentives, awards, polling, voting,surveying, and other purposes.

Broadly stated, some of the embodiments shown in FIG. 1 build upon theability of the STB processor 18 to record the actions of a viewer whilewatching television. By actuating a key on a remote control unit 26based upon audio/visual cues, viewer behavior may be recorded,transmitted if necessary, and then processed in order to evaluate theviewer behavior. Since each viewer action is time-stamped, a recreationof the viewer action sequence in time may be generated, which may becompared against any known sequence of events.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a television programming stream(network show, advertisement, gaming program, polling or survey program,etc.) presented over a particular period of time may include one or moreintentional or incidental occurrences of audio/video content or events,such as the display of products, a word, a sound, an action by an actor,an effect, or any other recognizable event. Responses to these cues maybe used as part of an award, incentive, measurement, market test,individual skill (including visual) measurement, marketing, customersensitivity to product measurement program, competition, contest, and/orentertainment device.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the steps involved in collecting andanalyzing event data and delivering incentives, and the like, for theinteractive session model, according to some of the embodiments of thisinvention. While the steps described herein and illustrated in theflowchart contain many specific examples of information, these stepsshould not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention,but rather as examples of steps that could be used to practice theinvention.

In step 52, a new interactive session may begin when a televisionbroadcast is transmitted to a television set 22 through the STB 10. Asdescribed in FIG. 1, the viewer may access television stations includedin the viewer's programming subscription via a user input device, suchas a remote control unit 26 via a remote control sensor 28. The viewer'sremote control unit 26 may include a dedicated “interactive session”pushbutton, or the viewer may actuate one or a series of pushbuttons inresponse to a prompt that is displayed on the television set 22, STB 10,or broadcast as an audio signal. Although there may be one or morededicated pushbuttons on the remote control unit 26 for responding toprompts, the interactive system may utilize remote control unit 26pushbuttons for multiple purposes.

The viewer may also be required to identify himself/herself using apersonal identifier, such as a personal identification number (PIN). Thepersonal identifier may be used to distinguish between different membersof a household. In an alternative embodiment, the interactive system maybe configured to automatically begin or continue a previously initiatedsession each time the television set 22 is turned on.

To initiate an interactive session, instruction signals or prompts maypre-exist in the content stream or may be inserted into the contentstream by the CPU (20, FIG. 1) at step 54, and are provided to theviewer through any of the methods described above. The CPU 20 acts uponthe incoming content stream from the tuner/demodulator (16, FIG. 1) anddecode (18, FIG. 1) and may superimpose any new audio/video cues uponthat stream. The STB 10 may provide a display that prompts the viewer toactuate one or a series of pushbuttons on the viewer's remote controlunit 26 at specific times during the broadcast transmission. An exampleof a display prompt may include such visual cues as “start” displayed inthe corner of the television 22 screen, an audible beep or word, or theappearance of a product within a subject program.

In step 56, the STB 10 of FIG. 1 detects if a response to an instructionor prompt is received through the infrared (IR) sensor (28, FIG. 1) ofthe STB 10 and the television review detector (32, FIG. 1). In step 58,if there is no response received from the viewer, a second prompt may beinserted into the broadcast transmission. The second prompt may beinserted after a pre-determined time period, a minute for example, inorder alert the viewer to the interactive session in case the viewermissed the first prompt. In one embodiment, additional prompts may beinserted into the broadcast transmission at various time intervals, suchas every fifteen minutes, every half-an-hour, or every hour, for thepurpose of informing the viewer that an interactive session may beinitiated.

In step 60, after it has been detected that a response has been receivedfrom step 56, the system checks whether the viewer has entered anappropriate response to a prompt. The particular configuration of thesystem depends upon whether the prompt is generally located in the STB10 or broadcast by the network. For example, if the prompt is generatedby the CPU 20 of the STB 10, then the response activity monitor 38detects whether the viewer responds within a certain number of secondsafter the prompt is generated. However, if the prompt is broadcast bythe television network, then the response activity monitor 38 mayperiodically download codes and acceptable response timing informationvia the network connection 30 from the television network. In such case,the STB 10 maintains a database of remote controller codes andcorresponding time periods when the codes are to be transmitted by aviewer.

If a viewer response is not received in the STB 10, the system in step62 continues the broadcasting of the television programming in step 50in the normal fashion. However, in step 64, if the viewer provides anappropriate response within the proper time then an interactive sessionhas been initiated, the details of which are discussed below.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an interactive session in whichrewards and incentives may be provided to a viewer who responds in anappropriate manner to one or more audio/visual cues using the set topbox of FIG. 1. At step 70, once an interactive session has beeninitiated by a viewer (step 64, FIG. 2), one or more audio/visual (A/V)cues are inserted into the television broadcast stream or alternatemedia programming (e.g., gaming application). The television broadcaststream (network show, advertisement, etc.) presented over a particularperiod of time may include one or more intentional or incidentaloccurrences of A/V content or events, such as the display of products,words, sounds, actions by an actor, effects, or any other recognizableevent. The A/V cues may be presented for the purpose of obtaining andreceiving information, incentives, awards, measurements, marketinginformation, viewer skill measurements, customer interests, voting,polling, and/or contests.

At step 72, the STB 10 records when a pushbutton is actuated and thetime at which the press was performed. At step 74, the STB 10, whenappropriate, provides the pushbutton time record of viewer actions to acollection server at the data-center/head-end of the operator of theinteractive system (e.g., cable operator, direct-to-home satellite videooperator, advertiser, etc.). The record of viewer actions may then becompared at the data-center against a known sequence of eventoccurrences provided by the content programmer, in step 76. The knownsequence of events occurrences may be provided as a time/event listingthat may be stored as an electronic database file. The comparison may bedone to determine which known events were detected by the viewer and thelatency associated with the viewer's actuation of the designatedpushbutton. At step 78, the latency between event presentation andviewer action may, if desired, be used to filter in/out acceptableresponse times for various purposes.

Given that viewer identity is known based upon viewer identification, asdescribed above, at step 80 the viewer may be rewarded or otherwiserecognized for their diligent viewing of the presentation andappropriate time responses to A/V cues. The interactive system mayretrieve the viewer's account information and display a description ofthe awards that are available to that viewer based upon the viewer'sresponse times and number of correct responses.

In one embodiment, the STB 10 connects to and sends vieweridentification information and response data to an external network viathe network connection 30 described above. The operation of the externalnetwork may be sponsored by the cable television provider or the digitalsatellite network. Alternatively, the external network may be operatedby a separate market research company affiliated with the cabletelevision provider or the digital satellite network. As another optionto increase the effectiveness of the interactive system with regards toadvertising, a viewer's time response data may be transmitted throughthe STB 10 directly to a vendor. For example, if a viewer presses theremote control key within an appropriate amount of time when a wellknown beverage can is displayed in a movie, the vendor may then directlyprovide the viewer with an award, such as a coupon for the beveragereceived in the mail. In that case, the STB 10 transmits a signalthrough the network connection 30 to indicate that the viewer is toreceive a coupon. The signal may include a viewer identification number,the date at which the interactive session took place, the response timesof the viewer, and the particular product or service being presented tothe viewer.

The methods and systems of some of the embodiments of this invention maybe used to sponsor various viewing incentive activities, such asactivities and competitions for individual and multiple viewers to noteand respond to events, whereby viewers with the either individually orcomparatively highest score based on events noted and response times mayreceive special awards, prizes, discounts on products, etc. A/V cues maybe sent at the beginning of a program and may include may includeexamples such as “Find the 15 times that a widget is displayed duringthis movie and receive a $1 discount coupon for a widget purchase”, “Thethree highest scores noting each time an advantage of the new widget ismentioned will receive a free one”, and scoring a boxing match alongwith the judges. Given that there are multiple pushbuttons on a remotecontrol unit 26, it is possible for multiple events to be tracked,recorded, and evaluated simultaneously.

Viewer response time data may be sent through the STB 10 to thedata-center for the purpose of confirming, in creative ways, that theviewer is experiencing a program. Viewers may generate an additionalinterest in a program if they are rewarded for participating.

Additional uses of this systems and methods may include evaluatingviewer response times for marketing purposes, such as the number ofviewers participating in events, viewer performance, and incentivesawarded. These marketing tools may provide advertisers and contentmanagers with data which may lead to product placements in programmingand viewer awareness of products within a television program includingproduct sensitivity. In addition, appropriate responses and responsetimes may be evaluated to measure individual viewer skills, such asvisual and audio skill measurements. For example, visual trackingproblems may be tested, evaluated, and trained. In another example,audio pitch skills may be broadcast and tested. A musical note may bebroadcast and a response given identifying the note, such as thedifference between an “A” and a “C”. Skills testing may be accomplishedbased upon response times

Some of the embodiments of this invention may be enabled for positiveinstant-feedback to the viewer or delayed feedback to the viewer. In aSTB 10 without substantial internal processing, logic, and extraprogramming associated with it, the interactive system of some of theembodiments of this invention may be restricted to a delayed-typefeedback system in which the post processing of viewer reactions takeplace. In this type of system, viewer actions and response times may besent to through the STB 10 to a data-center where they are processed.Processing may include determining whether or not response times matchup correctly or adequately relative to other individuals or a known setof events. A response may then be provided back to the user via email,the telephone, or U.S. mail.

In a positive instant-feedback system in which a STB 10 is capable ofmore substantial logic and processing, the system may provide instantfeedback to a viewer. For example, if a viewer respond to a specific A/Vcue in an appropriate amount of time, the STB 10 may temporarily displayan A/V cue back to the viewer, such as a check-mark or a thumbs-upsymbol displayed in the corner of the television set 22 display. In afurther embodiment, a rolling tally may be displayed which provides theviewer with a score, the score being based upon correct responses andresponse times. Data item/tags may be placed within an A/V stream atspecific time points. These tags may be inserted by the program providerand indicate that an event item is being presented at a certain timewithin a show. The tag may also indicate the time within which aresponse is required as well as the specific remote control unit 26button to be actuated. A STB 10 equipped to detect the in-stream tagsmay then monitor an action by the viewer which, if detected, maygenerate an audio or visual feedback indicating whether the viewerresponse has occurred within the timeframe required and perhaps if thecorrect pushbutton has been actuated.

To illustrate some of the embodiments of this invention in a real-worldexample, assume that a viewer has chosen to watch a Sunday afternoonfootball game. As a subscriber of television programming utilizing someof the embodiments of this invention, the viewer is shown a prompt atthe very beginning of the game. The prompt is displayed as a visualmessage appearing in the corner of the television set 22 display. Theprompt is inserted into the broadcast transmission by the CPU 20. Theprompt may read, for example, “Click on your remote control every timethe camera pans to the Gatorade™ cooler on the sidelines. Identify itwithin five seconds three times in a row and receive $1 off your nextpurchase.”

The viewer may opt to participate in the session by actuating apushbutton on the remote control unit 26, or may opt not to proceed andactuate a cancel button on the remote control unit 26. When a vieweropts not to participate, all prompts will be discontinued to that viewerfor a certain period of time, perhaps until the next show, or in anotherexample, not until the next time that the viewer turns on the televisionset 22.

Assume for the purposes of this example that the viewer decides toparticipate in the interactive session. The football game begins and thefirst time that the Gatorade™ cooler appears the viewer actuates apushbutton on the remote control unit 26 within five seconds of theappearance of the cooler. The remote sensor 28 sends an encoded messageto the STB 10 where the CPU 20 time stamps the indicated response andsends it to a data-center via the network connection 30, where the timedresponse meets the requirements of the known sequence of events. Theviewer then responds within five seconds to a second and thirdappearance of the cooler within the five second time designation. Atthis point, the viewer has fulfilled the requirements of the session andnow qualifies to receive the coupon. The coupon may be sent via the U.S.Postal Service or via email, where it may be printed by the viewer.

To illustrate the use of some of the embodiments of this invention in asecond real-world example, assume that an advertiser desires to collectinformation relating to the placement of the advertiser's product withina movie. Assume that BMW™ has paid to have one of their automobiles usedin a new action movie. The star of the movie drives the car in sixdifferent scenes, and in those six scenes the BMW™ emblem is shown. Tocollect information relating to the effectiveness of the placement ofthe automobile, the advertiser may employ some of the embodiments ofthis invention.

Viewers subscribing to the interactive media service of some of theembodiments of this invention are prompted at the beginning of the movieby the media delivery service of the details of the session. To initiatea session, a viewer accepts the session by actuating a pushbutton ontheir remote control unit 26 which includes a sensor 28 that sends anencoded signal to the STB 10. Each time that the automobile appears,each time being a visual cue, the viewer actuates a pushbutton on theirremote control unit 26. The STB 10 receives an encoded signal from theremote control unit 26 and time stamps the response and sends it to adata center via the network connection 30. In another example, the STB10 collects each viewer response, time stamps it, and then transmits allof the time-stamped viewer actions to the data center at the conclusionof the movie.

The advertiser may then compare viewer actions to the known sequence ofautomobile occurrences in order to determine the effectiveness ofproduct placement. The comparison information may be used as a marketingtool and for future product placement decisions. A viewer response logmay be sent to each viewer detailing their performance.

While several exemplary embodiments of this invention are describedherein, various modifications and alternate embodiments will occur tothose of ordinary skill in the art. For example, other protocol requestsfor a media programming stream, such as Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol(HTTP) and/or other protocols utilizing various formats, such as URLformats, Extensible Style Sheet (XSL) formats, Real Simple Syndication(RSS) that uses XML structures and others may be similarly used tocommunicate the programming media stream from a content source and usedto communicate the response (to a prompt or cue). Accordingly, some ofthe embodiments of this invention are intended to include those othervariations, modifications, and alternate embodiments that adhere to thespirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, at a device,media programming; causing, by the device, simultaneous display ofprompts during the media programming, the prompts prompt a viewer toprovide responses; receiving, by the device, the responses to theprompts; determining, by the device, a time associated with each of theresponses; comparing, by the device, the responses to events stored inmemory; determining, by the device, a match between a response of theresponses and an event of the events; determining, by the device, alatency between the time of the event and the time of the response; anddetermining, by the device, a performance of the viewer based on thelatency.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving anincentive associated with the performance of the viewer.
 3. The methodof claim 1, further comprising receiving an incentive in response to theperformance of the viewer.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingsending the responses to a server.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising displaying the prompts.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising displaying an incentive related to the performance of theviewer.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising disregarding theresponse.
 8. A system, comprising: a processor; and a memory storingcode that when executed causes the processor to perform operations, theoperations comprising: receiving media programming; causing simultaneousdisplay of prompts during the media programming, the prompts prompt aviewer to provide responses; receiving actions in response to theprompts; determining a time associated with each of the actions;comparing the actions to events; determining a match between an actionof the actions and an event of the events; determining a latency betweenthe time of the event and the time of the action; and evaluating aperformance of the viewer based on the latency.
 9. The system of claim8, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving an incentiveassociated with the performance of the viewer.
 10. The system of claim8, wherein the operations further comprise receiving an incentive inresponse to the performance of the viewer.
 11. The system of claim 8,wherein the operations further comprise sending the actions to a server.12. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprisedisplaying the prompts.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein theoperations further comprise displaying an incentive related to theperformance of the viewer.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein theoperations further comprise disregarding one of the responses.
 15. Amemory storing instructions that when executed cause a processor toperform operations, the operations comprising: receiving mediaprogramming; causing simultaneous display of prompts during the mediaprogramming, the prompts prompt a viewer for responses; receivingactions in response to the prompts; determining a time associated witheach of the actions; comparing the actions to events; determining anaction of the actions matches an event of the events; determining alatency between the event and the action; and evaluating a performanceof the viewer based on the latency.
 16. The memory of claim 15, whereinthe operations further comprise retrieving an incentive associated withthe performance of the viewer.
 17. The memory of claim 15, wherein theoperations further comprise receiving an incentive in response to theperformance of the viewer.
 18. The memory of claim 15, wherein theoperations further comprise sending the actions to a server.
 19. Thememory of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise displayingthe prompts.
 20. The memory of claim 15, wherein the operations furthercomprise displaying an incentive related to the performance of theviewer.